Sleeping baby. Credit: Pixabay, Pexels
A new United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) report published June 2025 reveals all about the global fertility crisis.
Based on a 14-country survey representing over 37 per cent of the global population, the data shows both over- and under-achieved fertility are rampant, driven by economic insecurity, social pressures, and lack of reproductive support.
People are unfulfilled with their reproductive desires worldwide
UNFPA and YouGov’s survey, included in the State of World Population 2025 report, highlights a stark mismatch between people’s reproductive desires and reality. Nearly 1 in 5 adults aged 18–50 said they don’t expect to have the number of children they actually want. Of those aged 50+, 31 per cent had fewer children than desired, while only 12 per cent had more.
32 per cent of all respondents said they or their partner had experienced an unintended pregnancy. Meanwhile, 23 per cent reported a time when they wanted a child but couldn’t have one – with over 40 per cent of that group ultimately abandoning their hopes altogether.
The real causes of the fertility crisis: money and healthcare
UNFPA identifies economic constraints as the top barrier to achieving fertility goals. Across all countries surveyed, 39 per cent of respondents cited financial limitations, and 21 per cent named unemployment or job insecurity. A further 19 per cent pointed to housing issues. One anonymous 29-year-old female from Mexico said: “I want children, but it’s becoming more difficult as time passes by. It is impossible to buy or have affordable rent in my city. I also would not like to give birth to a child in war times and worsened planetary conditions, if that means the baby would suffer because of it.”
Health problems were also a major factor: 24 per cent cited issues like infertility, poor general health, or inaccessible care. Fears about the future including wars, climate change, and pandemics were noted by 19 per cent, while lack of a partner or unequal domestic burdens affected 14 per cent.
Women are not to be blamed for fertility crisis
Contrary to mainstream media blaming women for declining birth rates, UNFPA notes the “deeply flawed” narrative that assumes women are freely choosing not to have children.
UNFPA warns that such myths ignore real constraints like coercion, discrimination, and inadequate reproductive care. According to UN Sustainable Development Goal data, 25 per cent of women cannot make decisions about their own healthcare and 24 per cent cannot say no to sex.
The report tracks decades of failed population control efforts, showing how state interference in fertility has often backfired – sometimes with devastating consequences. China’s one-child policy, in force from 1980 to 2015, led to forced abortions and millions of undocumented “ghost children.”
Romania’s 1966 abortion ban also had disastrous effects. While it briefly spiked birth rates, it led to thousands of deaths from unsafe abortions. The report notes, ‘By the time the policy ended in 1989, Romania had the highest maternal mortality rate in Europe, some 87 per cent of which was attributable to unsafe abortion, as well as vast numbers of abandoned children (Hord and others, 1991).’
Italy’s 2016 “Fertility Day” posters, with slogans like “Beauty knows no age. Fertility does,” were widely mocked for ignoring the real barriers to family planning such as job insecurity and housing costs. South Korea’s “birth map”, which showed the distribution of women of childbearing age, provoked outrage and was quickly shut down after accusations of shaming.
UNFPA argues that coercion and propaganda erode reproductive freedom and rarely work long-term. In fact, some women now avoid pregnancy in places where maternal healthcare has declined due to abortion restrictions. As one young Filipino woman put it, “A lot of policies worldwide are against women’s healthcare. I feel that this pushes us to stay single and have no children”
Roman, a 26-year-old male from Azerbaijan said: “Before I bring a child into this world, I have to fight for the right to do so on my own terms – for same-sex marriage, for surrogacy, for adoption rights and parental recognition – where I am from. Because this isn’t just my fight. It’s the fight of billions of young people trapped in systems that deny them the rights and dignity they deserve.”
A call for better reproductive support
UNFPA urges governments to stop manipulating fertility rates and instead empower people to make informed, voluntary choices. That includes:
- Quality healthcare and contraception access
- Economic and housing support
- Gender equality and shared parenting
- Trustworthy, non-coercive reproductive policies
Executive Director Dr Natalia Kanem writes: “Millions and millions of people still, therefore, cannot exercise their reproductive rights and choices. This inability of individuals to realize their desired fertility goals is the real fertility crisis – not overpopulation or underpopulation – and we see it everywhere we look.”
UNFPA concludes the only sustainable demographic policy is one that centres people’s rights. As the report notes, ‘Policies should respond directly to what people want and need – not as an afterthought, but as the first and most important inquiry.’
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